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Steelhead action heats up in winter

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ALTMAR, N.Y. — Like other exhibitors attending the annual Early Bird Sports Expo, which begins its four-day run Thursday at the Bloomsburg Fairground, licensed New York State fishing guide and Lehigh Valley native Captain Josh Day of Whack ’em Guide Service offers the opportunity for an unforgettable outdoors adventure.

What sets Day apart from the majority of guides and outfitters, however, is his ability to provide almost instant gratification to his clients booking a fishing trip at the show. At least, that is so for those looking to target the “silver bullets” that cruise the winter months in the Salmon River — the trophy overgrown rainbow trout known as steelhead.

As with all fish species, targeting steelhead requires fishing, and effort is not always rewarded with catching. With more than 30 years experience fishing the Salmon, however, Day can help turn the tide in favor of his clients by using the current baits that are most productive.

For the experienced guides on the river there really are no secrets, so what is most import for anglers fishing with Day is that he is willing to do the extra work that can make the difference between boating fish or a series of one’s that got away. In the winter that often means him putting in a long, strenuous drift manning the oars of his driftboat back-trolling Hot Shots.

These brightly colored, billed baits are similar in size to medium crankbaits used to attract smallmouth and largemouth bass. Hot Shots, however, are designed to create more movement and motion than could ever be achieved retrieving crankbaits and there are situations when those with sound chambers raise the bar when it comes to attracting steelhead.

“Floating and drifting egg sacks is the traditional way to target steelhead and is a lot easier than rowing the entire drift to maneuver the boat and keep the Hot Shots in position,” Day said. “Steelhead are feeding from the time they enter the river in the fall to when they migrate back to Lake Ontario in the spring, but there are times when they need some encouragement to strike by the movement Hot Shots provide, and sometimes will strike out of aggression and not to feed.

“Depending on water clarity, I’ll run the plugs between 25-50 feet from the boat and use level-wind, line-counter reels for consistent setups. I like a slight bend in the rods and a slight bow in my line just above where it enters the water because it will usually straighten before the rod begins bouncing to indicate a bite.

“I want my Hot Shots digging the bottom where the fish will be holding, so I hold back a little more on the oars when working a run or hole. On slower flats, I let the boat slip downhill more quickly so that the lures run a little up off the bottom.”

Day will customize float trips to the wishes of his clients from full-day to morning to afternoon outings. One of the most popular bookings he provides consists of an afternoon float and then a morning float the next day before returning home.

When he had a cancellation Thanksgiving weekend, he contacted two of his friends who are outdoors writers to see if they were interested in a Sunday morning float trip for steelhead. Fortunately, they were able to book a room at the Trestle Pool Lodge, just minutes from the boat launch at Altmar, and less than 24 hours after getting the call from Day the two writers were settled into their room, watching college football and enjoying homemade chicken-noodle soup that Mark Fenwick and his wife always have cooking away in the crock pot.

“With a propane heater in the bow of my boat, winter steelhead trips have been on the increase,” Day said. “Many of my return clients return to target spring steelhead because the fish are such aggressive feeders on their way back to Lake Ontario, and that’s also a good time of the year to pick up a big brown.

“In my mind, however, there is nothing that compares to the action of running Hot Shots. When we get into fish, no one talks about the weather.”

Contact the writer: wildlife@timesshamrock.com

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